Freesat’s rise stalls as Freetime smart TV boxes triple sales

Freesat has added just 6,000 new homes to its user base since March but Freetime smart TV boxes are now selling three times as much as a year ago.

More than 1.85 million British homes now use Freesat for their main TV, with around 50,000 coming on board over the past year, a low rate of growth compared to Sky or TalkTalk TV.

Smart TV service Freetime now accounts for 47 per cent of all Freesat box sales, and is now selling at three times the rate it did in Spring 2013.

Freesat faces competition from TalkTalk and BT TV

Emma Scott, Freesat’s managing director, commented: “I’m constantly encouraged by the number of people that are switching away from paying for their TV every month to join Freesat which is subscription free.

“Our good start to the year has continued into the second quarter and the mixture of great programming, brilliant features and no monthly bills is proving to be a very compelling proposition. “

More than 3.5m viewers tune in through Freesat every week, with popular shows this spring including The Honourable Woman, Happy Valley, the new series of Episodes and the World Cup in HD.